Many Thanks For Stanford And Baylor

Saturday

Nov 24, 2012 at 5:43 AM

Thanksgiving came early for fans of Notre Dame and Alabama. They were already offering their thanks to Stanford for beating then-No. 1 Oregon and Baylor for beating then-No. 2 Kansas State a week ago. The losses propelled the Fighting Irish to the top spot in the BCS and the polls and Alabama back to No. 2.

By RAY BEASOCKTHE LEDGER

Thanksgiving came early for fans of Notre Dame and Alabama.

They were already offering their thanks to Stanford for beating then-No. 1 Oregon and Baylor for beating then-No. 2 Kansas State a week ago. The losses propelled the Fighting Irish to the top spot in the BCS and the polls and Alabama back to No. 2.

But the thanks didn't stop with supporters of those two schools. There were plenty to go around from other schools outside the top two, who are thankful for a second chance at a title.

Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Stanford and even Florida State all have a shot at sneaking into the top two, but they're going to need help.

Thankfully, there are scenarios for each to play for a national title:

Georgia needs to beat Georgia Tech and then Alabama in the SEC title game.

For Florida, it starts with beating Florida State today. If the Gators can do that, then they need Notre Dame to lose to Southern Cal — in which case Georgia or Alabama will take care of the rest. Or they would need Georgia to lose to Georgia Tech then beat Alabama.

Oregon needs Stanford to lose to UCLA and a win over Oregon State to get into the Pac 12 title game. Then the Ducks need to beat UCLA and hope Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia or Florida slip up enough to secure a spot in the championship.

Stanford needs to beat UCLA to win the Pac 12 North. Then they'll need to beat the Bruins again in the Pac 12 championship and hope, like Oregon, for a lot of help in the way of losses by three of the top four.

Of the rest of the top 10 in the BCS, I like FSU's chances the most of leapfrogging into contention. They'll need a lot of help, but a win today over Florida could jump them ahead thanks to Florida's high rank. Then they'll need the same kind of help Oregon and Stanford are hoping for to even have a chance.

It doesn't look good for the Seminoles, but they at least mathematically still have a shot. They should be thankful for that.

I'm thankful that there are some absolute gems on the schedule today.

Let's tackle the one that will flood many of your Facebook feeds today: Florida vs. Florida State.

As I mentioned before, both have shots at making the BCS title game. Florida's chances are much better because of their schedule. The Gators' only loss came to Georgia, which is ranked just ahead of them in the BCS rankings. Of course, Florida State has only one loss too, but that came to woeful North Carolina State. The Seminoles will need to rout the Gators in order to beef up their rankings enough to even have a shot. That might've been possible if Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel wasn't playing in this game, but he is. I'm not sure how much he'll play or whether he'll even finish the game against a stout FSU defense, but this one is going to be close. A 100 percent Driskel might've had me picking the Gators, but I feel the Seminoles will have the last laugh this year. FSU 28, UF 21.

You might not think Miami has a lot to be thankful for after self-imposing another postseason ban as the investigation into the school continues. They're certainly not as thankful as Georgia Tech, which will win the ACC Coastal by default and face Florida State in the ACC title game. However, the Hurricanes can be thankful they seem to be doing the right thing. Oh, and they're playing Duke. Miami 48-24.

In other state games: UCF should rout UAB 38-7; Louisiana-Monroe over FIU 34-14 and Bethune-Cookman over Coastal Carolina 31-21.

Now onto those other marquee matchups in the Top 25.

It's too bad Ohio State is on probation, or the Buckeyes would probably be in one of the two BCS title spots. Their annual game with Michigan is always entertaining no matter what the score. Buckeyes will stay unbeaten, 30-17.

Oregon slipped last week, and the Ducks have to be careful this week against in-state rival Oregon State. Somehow I don't see the Ducks losing two in a row. Oregon 38-27.

Stanford has to beat UCLA twice to have any hope of a title shot. They'll do just enough tonight. Stanford 20, UCLA 14.

In other Top 25 games: Oklahoma over Oklahoma State 34-30; Clemson over South Carolina 29-24 and Notre Dame should secure a spot in the BCS championship, 35-21 over Southern Cal.